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Where to play Paradox Currently, we're squatting chat lobby Casual 17 to meet up and friend each other so we can play. Alas, Red Alert 3's match system isn't the strongest in the world, so many people recommend also friending people on Steam. More information can be found on the forums on Moddb. Do you have a suggestion? Drop your awesome ideas over here at Suggestions! And yes, there are a lot of rules. Concerns Team Paradox is smart enough to know that the current Paradox mod (and possibly concepts of the future) have flaws that need to be fixed. However, to do that, one needs to know of them first! It is hard for a creator to find the most niggling flaws with his or her creation. So, to facilitate that, the Concerns page was created. Projects Here are some of the projects the community is currently working on. If you need help with templates to improve the pages, check out the Templates Project Page and Category:Templates for a list of all templates available. New Format Mega-Project Fellow wiki users, Ferriswheel42 has come down from the boardroom itself and complained that many pages are too lore heavy, and light on what the unit actually was. To that regard, he proposed a new format for unit pages, mostly similar to the old one. I modified it a bit to fit, and assuming he doesn't read this and break my arm for not following his directions, I think it would be best if unit profiles fitted it! To wit, there are a few steps to take. 1. Everyone familiarize yourselves with the new format at Editing Guidelines and Formatting. Look at my model, using yours truly as an example unit, to see it in action at Unit Profile Model Format 2. To any Allied and Confederate unit not in the new profile (being most of them), add to the top. This will only be done for the Allied and Confederate units, because those are the only ones actually in game, and it's doubtful someone wanting to know how to play Paradox wants to know about a unit that hasn't even been sketched yet. 3. On any page that does have the Reformatting Template on it you, well, reformat it. Mostly this will mean writing four short paragraphs at the start describing the unit's abilities, but some pages may lack a tactics section or more. This will be limited to Allies and Confederate units, since they have the most info on them (namely, the heroic upgrade). If you REALLY want to, you can do it for other factions, but some may be hard to write about (how do you write about the veterinary upgrades of the Talon in just one three sentence paragraph, after all? 4. Once this is done, take off the template, of course. Me or another admin will eventually check it to see all is well. 5. After that is done, read Ferris's proposal for the organisation of faction profiles, and comment on what you think about it. Now, go out there and improve some unit profiles! Encyclopedia of Lore Units Ever wonder what the rest of the faction is using while you're hogging all the best units? Well, we hope to make a list of all of them, for lore purposes. It will help with battles, too. Here's links to them, some are partially complete, so use those as a guideline. We want those units to use the Template:LoreUnitbox with its different tags instead of the common unit boxes and Template:LoreHeader to match. If you have enough lore to make a new and appropriate link, feel free to make one! Allied Air Force Allied Battle Tanks Allied Motor Pool Allied Navy Soviet Air Force Soviet Experimental Forces Soviet Tanks Soviet Walkers Soviet Navy Imperial Air Force Imperial Tanks Places of Origins Ever look at the places these units have come from and had a funny idea as to what it was? Well, we're fleshing them out, too! The joy is that these can be small and easy to write. Join in on the fun at these links. Allied Military-Industrial Complex Soviet Union State Enterprises Imperial Zaibatsu and Military Contractors Confederate Support Network Syndicate Military Subsidiaries Used Images Images used in the various template boxes (Unit Box, Building Box, Technology Box etc.) should be resized to a maximum of 350px if they are bigger than that. Pictures outside of those boxes should commonly be resized to a maximum of 200px, but if they appear rather broad and flat, use 300px instead because else they become very small. Also add a descriptive text behind them. How to resize pictures: Add |XYZpx|YourTextHere into the picture link, for example: To make it a thumbnail, add |thumb and either |left or |right into the picture link, for example: would result in the same picture as before, but smaller, with the thumbnail border and it would be arranged to the left. Remember, the picture description must be the last part in the link. Historical Battles Tayya has made outlines of a few battles for us to make at Category:Battles. Just remember to keep it within universe standards, and that Team Paradox will probably edit it heavily to fit into their vision. Otherwise, go nuts at it. We'll be discussing what RA3 Missions are canon or not. Article Status Many articles here are obviously not whole. Sometimes, they're a template or header and nothing more (which should not be done if possible), while others have special conditions that aren't made clear from the start. Nothing wrong with that; after all, the Rome MegaSprawl wasn't built in a day. But to be clear, we should mark them as such. Add if it's been forgotten and is free for anyone to start it over if need be. Add if it's a bible page and it should be noted that the page is very spoilerific. Add if it's mostly complete, but requires a good editing to bring it up to Paradox Wiki standards. Add (with a corresponding lock icon) if it's a suggestion page for a faction that is unlikely to accept further suggestions. Team Leaders ONLY! Add if the article no longer belongs to the mod. Team Leaders ONLY! Add if you or someone else are making stuff up for fun (It would be nice to put such articles on the Fan Fiction Wiki, though). Add if the page has parts that need serious improvements. Add if the article itself is fine, but it needs some or more images to look better. Add if an article happens to be really dark, bloody and/or contains severe radical and explicit language. Add if it's something not based on what Team Paradox has written, or if it contradicts what they've written. Add if it's something that comes from Team Paradox, but is not part of the canon. Add if the article has nothing to do with Paradox but serves comedic effect or the community as a whole. Add if it's old and needs a major overhaul. Add if the article needs to be adjusted to the new page overhaul project (Allies and Confederates only). Add if the article is so horrible it makes you want to crush your computer with a sledgehammer. Bureaucrats ONLY! Add if it's technically complete, but still tiny. Add if it's incomplete, and being worked on. Unit Voices Team Paradox, despite their great talent, wishes help in coming up with unit response concepts and scripts, and you may be just the (wo)man to help! Save your ideas for sides far off release, but there's always room to help at the closest releases. Allied Voices Script Suggestions Confederate Voices Script Suggestions Soviet Voices Script Suggestions Rising Sun Script Suggestions Faction Bibles The setting and all factions have guidelines on how to write stuff about them and general info. General Setting Details Allied Faction Bible Soviet Faction Bible Empire Faction Bible Rebel Faction Bible Kingdom Faction Bible Syndicate Faction Bible Order Faction Bible Protectorate Faction Bible Minor Faction Bible Echoes Wiki Paradox has budded its own mod of a mod, Echoes, composed of factions made by fans. They have a long road ahead of it, but they have the spirit! Take a read at Echoes Production Main Page Fan Wiki There's entire universes based on Paradox in the making! Go to the fan extended universe wiki at the Paradox Mod Fan Wiki Useful Sites I've been called creative, but in actuality what it boils down to is research and resourcefulness. Maybe that's what creativity is, but that's another discussion. I can't speak for Sketchbook's obviously great creativity, but for me (Psychotic Loner) it really boils down to looking on these sites. Wikipedia Look up a real life vehicle that's similar to what's being mentioned, and you'll find all sorts of relevant facts. For example, for the Torpedo Boat, I looked up a similar vehicle, the PT Boat, and found plenty of info, enough to fill out the "Key Features" bit. Google What can't Google do? Just type in words that relate to the unit, and you never know what might pop up. For example, while thinking about the Heavy Defender I typed in "French Trencher" in Google and found out the affectionate name for French trenchers in WWI was "Poilu". I had a good name for the bunker as well as a gag based on its translation. Random Name Generator You can probably find a lot of these, but this is my favourite because you can combine nationalities, as well as add more goofy types of names that can add that certain touch if you need it.. Alternatively, you can use historical figures if appropriate, but don't go overboard. If they're of the right age, you can even use your relatives! EVA Database I'm sure most of you know what this is, but if you don't, look no more for CnC info. Paradox has its own page here. Google Maps "But Loner,", you might say, "isn't Red Alert pretty general with geography?" Why yes, I might say, but some maps are actually more accurate than you may think. Besides, referencing specific towns and other places makes something a lot more vivid. Isn't "Landed at Marina Del Ray" better than "Landed at a nearby town"? TV Tropes Not really for creativity, but Open Sketchbook, I, and many others use these phrases often. Besides, it might give you ideas, since these are tropes and not cliches. Just watch out for rabid fanboys! Red Alert Paradox has its own TV Tropes page, here. Atomic Rocket Limited in scope, but in that scope a Library of Alexandria-like repository of divine knowledge (yes, I need to cut back on the purple prose.) Both me and Sketch are quite fond of it, and it's invaluable for your lore about space travel in Paradox and beyond. A bit of a read, but that never bothered me. Starting a project, and not letting the project die, Part One and Part 2, and If it had to be done all over again Okay, it's not about about creativity, but it will help you, regardless. It's a series of very good articles by NinjaDave, former leader of the Crimson Crow mod and ModDB big wig. Though written with modders in mind, it will give you as a fan an excellent view of how a mod works, what problems modders face, and how a mod can die. The Making of The Forgotten: Story, Campaign, and Battlefields Yeah, they're very pleased with themselves, but read beyond that, and it's a solid look into the mind of a modder. I particularly like the section on how they justified Trogan's background, but that's just the loremaster in me. The Sixties Forever Red Alert 3 Paradox is set in 1969, and strives to make use of it. It's not just going to be a number slapped onto the corner of pages; we want to weave it into the setting. Now, as I imagine most of us missed the Sixties, here's some tips for getting into character. Feel free to add more. Remember "The Sixties" is not 1960 to 1970. It's really much closer to 1964-65 to the end of the Vietnam War. Music Probably the most important. The Sixties was defined, more than any other decade, by the music it produced. The two bands I'd point to as most capturing the feeling of the Sixties are Deep Purple and The Monkees; any song they produced during the 1960s will draw you in pretty much instantly. Obviously, the early work of the Beatles also qualifies. Creedence Clearwater Revival's Fortunate Son does a wonderful job of touching on the feelings of the Vietnam generation. If you have iTunes, the internet radio stations such as Rewind 45 60s and Peace Out Radio, among others, is more or less the best thing next to going forty-five light years out and picking up an authentic 1960s radio signal. The best part about them is that they don't just play the hits; they give you an actual tapestry of music from the time. You'll probably also find yourself hooked on the music of the era, which is not a bad thing! Television Thanks to the wonders of the internet, pretty much anything that's been on television at one time or another is available to view. Here's a few 1960s shows to look into. The Mod Squad was a police drama designed to appeal to young people, which started airing in 1968. There really isn't any show more 60s then this one. Star Trek: The Original Series is not only easy to find, but bears many of the highlights of the culture at the time. It also gives you an idea on the massive gap between generations at the time; when people in their 30s and 40s wanted something that seemed alien, they found out what the teens and 20 somethings were into! The Ed Sullivan Show is something worth looking into. I understand much of it can still be found floating around on the interwebs; pretty much every major cultural event in the United States at the time aired here first. Even just reading episode summaries can show you when things first entered the public eye. Dr. Who started broadcasting in 1963. Though they spend much of the series time traveling, it's an interesting piece of history. If only so much of it wasn't lost... Monty Python's Flying Circus manages to paint a fairly good picture of the 1960s in Britain behind the silly irrelevance. You can actually see the war generation being culturally displaced in the background! Though not actually a 1960s series, Tour of Duty explores the Vietnam War and is a good watch. It's also more military-themed, which is obviously important in our WWIII setting. Movies Hollywood was still in full swing back then. Here's some good titles that not only show the culture of the time, but are damn good movies in their own right. Dr Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is pretty much the go-to for a dose of Cold War paranoia. Though more 1950s in attitude, it gives you a good idea of what the Cold War was. The Italian Job is a wonderful 1960s action movie with possibly the best car chase in existence. Worth checking out. The Graduate is an old classic, and really showcases the fashions and attitudes of the era. There are, of course, a slew of Vietnam War films that deserve seeing; Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, and Platoon all give you a good idea of not just the cultural effect of the war, but can also give you an idea of the sort of military technology and tactics common to the era, obviously useful given our setting. The Past is a Strange Place At first glance, the 1960s really doesn't look much different from today. Sure, cars look different, fashion has changed, and computers have gotten a lot smaller, but there have been a huge number of changes since. Some of them, regarding discrimination and bigotry, are covered under the Law of Crimson Skies and can be safely ignored, but others... can't. American politics has changed massively since the 1960s; important to note, since the Confederates deal with it so extensively. The language of modern politics may as well be meaningless in the 1960s. Back then, the Democratic Pary was the party of business and progressive values, while the Republicans were just shaking off an old image of race politics and paranoid MacCarthyism and modernizing their image. The result? The two parties were essentially interchangeable by modern standards, and their disagreements were very slight, basically divided along lines of subculture rather than policy; traditionalists for the Republicans and counter-culture types for the democrats. Politics wasn't quite as polarized as it is nowadays; politicians on both sides were friendly with one another, and elections were decided more by the charisma of the candidates than their policies. Remember, in the real world, Richard Nixon was elected on a Republican ticket in 1969 and proceeded to expand welfare, start the EPA, open relations with communist China, and generally do all sorts of things that most modern Democrats would consider too socialist. He was impeached because he was super corrupt, but up until then, he was really well liked. Can you imagine that happening today? In other words, if you are going to bring politics into something you are writing, please don't bring in modern politics; do some research and find the trends of the time. Sure, computers have gotten smaller and more powerful since the 1960s, but computers have also changed roles and are percieved very differently since then. Nowadays, computers are everywhere, from your car to your house to the MP3 player you carry around. They make our lives more convenient and bring entertainment to use in portable form. We use them as a means of communications and a data-storage medium. In the 1960s, computers were none of these things. Computers... they computed. And not a hell of a lot more. They didn't even really store information; readable storage for computers was so restrictive you used your storage medium to keep only the data needed to run programs, and everything else was done manually, entered from big books and copied from printouts, computed as the information was entered. They were used primarily to crunch similation models or control very complicated things, like spacecraft. There were no screens, no mice, and more keys to manipulate the computer's functions than to enter information. Even though not all computers in Paradox are the size of the ones in the real 1960s, and many are much more powerful, they are NOT modern computers. They make printouts in paper and ink, you enter data from a program book, and after you hit the button that makes you go you have to wait for the "computing" light to turn off before you entered more data. That's where computers are in this setting. Remember, though, that you don't need computers to do many of the things computers do now; computers might do them easier, but they weren't the only things that could. Want to send somebody text information? Use a Teletype machine. Send pictures? Smuggle some microfilm in. Send video? Television signals. Record sound? Reel-to-reel magnetic tape recorders for higher tech factions and "Dictabelt" physical recording for others. Need to do some simple calculations? Grab a slide rule. Aim a gun automatically at aircraft? You can do that with a radar system and extremely simple electronics; you can even make them lead the target with simple biases in the system. Calculate artillery trajectories? Do practical tests first, write down the results, and put it on paper! In other words, before you use a computer for something, stop and think if you can do it any other way without one. If yes, use that. If no, look it up for a few minutes first! Say Hi! This is a place where people new to the wiki can just give a shout out and say hi! --GЯIGIЯ STФУДИФVICH 12:39, 10 June 2011 (UTC) Hi! Did anyone miss me? TLhikan 21:28, 2 November 2012 (UTC): I felt bad that Exalted had the only post here, so well, hello I guess. Hello Comrades, I wonder why not many people won't say hello? - Drunekn_Soviet Category:About